The Story of Wine in Altadena.
Altadena's wine history + fire relief.
Two weeks ago, I wrote to you all that I was tired of wine and the responses I received were incredibly beautiful, supportive and inspiring. I felt hope again. I had (have) every intention of thoughtfully responding to all of those, however as many of us know, the 48 hours following that email were not easy.
The next day, the Santa Ana winds ignited multiple devastating fires across Los Angeles County, one of them just north of my hometown in Altadena. Both the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fires have devastated our city in unimaginable ways. The news of endless friends and loved ones losing their homes, their businesses (for some, both), schools I have worked at, community spaces, cultural centers, beaches, nature centers and so much history— so much life lost in one day. My heart is broken, to say the least and I’m finding it difficult to wrap my head around the insurmountable loss these communities face.
Outside of wine, I work for a San Gabriel Valley-based non-profit which services the Pasadena and Altadena communities. We spent the next 7 days going to rapid relief mode providing direct assistance to folks impacted by the Eaton Fire through donated supplies, resources, gift cards etc. It was heavy and it was chaotic at times, but seeing our community come together and activate so quickly was beautiful and it gave me hope. Even in the darkest, most uncertain times community is everything. We need each other and together we can guide each other.
My complaints from the last newsletter seem futile. Eventually, I will respond to you all and thank you individually. But for now, I will dedicate this newsletter to a few of the wine community members who have been directly impacted and tell you the beautiful history of Altadena as a viticulture center in early Los Angeles history.
Altadena’s Vibrant History
Present day Altadena is a beautiful mosaic of diversity. It is a place where nature centers nestled in the mountains serve as the backyard both multigenerational families/businesses and new families/businesses. Specifically, it is home to a long standing Black community (one of the first places in Los Angeles where Black folks were able to buy homes in a post-civil rights era America). Many families here have multigenerational roots in Altadena, and have contributed to helping weave the beautiful cultural, economic and social fabric of the region and developed it into the wonderful city in the foothills that we know today.
Before the urban development of the second half of the 20th century, Altadena was home first to the Tongva people and then to settlers moving west seeking the health and fertile land that the San Gabriel Valley provided. And while the history is long and rich, I will focus today on an important, yet often overlooked chapter in California wine’s story.
During the expansion of the California missions in the 1800s, much of present day Los Angeles County was dedicated to viticulture and the production of wine. The areas around the San Gabriel Mountains were especially fertile, with mediterranean climates, which made it a prime location for planting vines, especially on the slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains and in the foothills. Rich soils, made of volcanic ash and clay and close to water sources lended itself to abundant and high quality harvests, which supported the growing Los Angeles wine industry (the largest in California at the time). As California entered statehood, Mexican land grants were given to settlers and former mission workers in the SGV, who continued the tradition of planting and tending to vines.
The roots of this story start with Rancho El Huerte de Quati (present day San Rafael in Pasadena), one of the few Mexican land grants given to Native Americans. El Huerte was given to Victoria Reid, a Tongva woman in 1834, but was eventually sold to Benjamin “Don Benito” Wilson in 1859 along with the neighboring Rancho San Pasqual and renamed it Lake Vineyard, extending the vineyards into Altadena, Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Marino and Alhambra and building one of the most notable wineries in the region. Wilson also led the first expedition to the highest peak of the San Gabriel Mountains, what is known today as Mt. Wilson, in search of timber for wine vats. Luckily, they ended up not liking the wood and chose not to harvest from there; but the trail remains one of the most iconic trekking and hiking monuments in LA County.
During the 1800s, wine production in LA shifted to a more commercialized industry and the rural areas around Altadena and the foothills offered abundant agricultural opportunities. Local producers, Elias Pearce and W.E. Lawton planted vineyards in the area and introduced suitable grapes for the terroir, including both indigenous and European vines (notably: Zinfandel and Mission grapes, among others). With this growing wine industry came wine culture and aficionados, like the Pasadena Wine Society, created groups who supported the local industry through wine tastings and events (hmm… sounds very Mas Vino coded lol).
The areas around Cañada Ave, (near Lincoln), New York Drive and Alta Loma in the foothills are all believed to be areas where some of the larger vineyards were planted.
A few years later, the portion of the land in present day Altadena was sold to John Woodbury who had big dreams for turning rural Altadena into a booming commercial town. Unfortunately, Woodbury’s timing was off and the real estate bubble burst causing an economic depression and development plans to fail. However, due to the booming success of mountain getaway destinations like Rubio Canyon, Echo Mountain, and Mt Lowe (attracting more than 60,000 tourists in a year!) and world class hotels in the mountain, Pasadena and Altadena were able to bounce back quickly.
Because there was no prohibition in the mountain destinations, folks enjoyed taverns, bars, and wine on their travels, claiming some of the best wine lists in the country (*some of these anecdotes are really fascinating to me!). Tourists who visited the areas by train and by stagecoach, eventually took notice of Altadena and settled there. This migration, coupled with the eventual phylloxera outbreak (which killed many vines throughout California) caused farmers and residents to shift from grapes to other crops like citrus, dates, avocados and walnuts. By the 1920s, the population and development of the city had increased significantly and US Prohibition caused many winemakers to give up on wine altogether, except for a few who continued to produce for medicinal and religious purposes.
Eventually, wine production in the region dwindled and industries shifted to suit the times. While this chapter in American Wine History may have been short, it was pivotal for the growth of Los Angeles and the California wine movement, which eventually migrated north to regions like Napa and Sonoma.
In the last 30 or so years, there has been a revival of winemaking in Altadena through urban wineries focused on sustainability and small batch winemaking like the Altadena Urban Vineyard Project (2000s) and of course my friend, Vin de California. Of course, with the proximity to the Los Angeles food and wine scene, shops and bars throughout Altadena and Pasadena have uplifted niche wine producers and offered a new audience to a growing wine movement.
As we look to rebuild the areas affected by the fires, both in Altadena and the Palisades, I hope you will join me in supporting local businesses of all types, including wine bars, wine shops, restaurants and tasting rooms. Our communities need each other more than ever now. Below is a list of fundraisers and businesses from the wine community to support during uncertain times.
Be safe. Thank you, and I love you.
Community Support for Wine Friends Affected by LA Fire:
Altadena Bev - pillars of both the wine and Altadena communities, Kate and Adam have supported so many of us. Their shop is currently closed due to evacuation requirements but they are selling their famous Altadena hats & crewnecks.
Kristin O of Nomadica - the founder of Nomadica Canned Wine also lost her home in the Palisades Fire. You can support her and her husband here.
Silverlake Wine - their sister shop West Altadena Wine is currently closed but they are selling Eric Junker Posters for fire relief efforts.
Pasadena Wine Shop - the founder and owner, unfortunately lost her home in the Eaton Fire. A great way to support her is by shopping with her or supporting her GFM. She also has a selection of donated wines for sale and is giving 100% of the sale price to California Fire Foundation.
Rosenthal Wine Shop (Malibu) - unfortunately lost their shop and tasting room in the Palisades Fire. You can support their staff through Gofundme here.
DIRECT FUNDRAISING FOR VICTIMS OF LA FIRES - 5pmLucky has compiled a working list of families, folks and businesses who need our support. “All links directly support real people, real neighbors, that I know or you know or your friend knows.” - 5pmLucky.
**I know there are probably so many more I have missed. Please link them in the comments if you’d like to share.
**Much of the information I shared was found on the Altadena Heritage website, which I encourage you all to check out. They detail so much interesting Los Angeles & San Gabriel Valley history there.
This is so fascinating - thank you!
i love you and i love your love for your city ❤️